Whisper Baby Pressure?

[Jeremiah]

Hello all, just picked up a whisper baby that is in almost new condition for a great deal! What I am wondering is what pressure I should run it at. I ran on 10lbs for awhile and then on 15lbs seemed to do better at 15lbs, but I am new to this type of forge and really have no idea where to set the regulator.

[rthibeau]

I have a Whisper Momma that I normally run at 4 - 5 psi unless I'm trying to forge weld then it will get up to 20 - 25 psi

[ThomasPowers]

Remember that guages are nortorious for becoming uncalibrated so basing your guage readings on my guage readings can be pretty iffy.

Why not contact the manufacturer and see what they advise?

[Frosty]

Yeah, spending $10-15 for a new gauge is a good investment.

You can also get in touch with the manufacturer and get their opinion.

However, anywhere between 4 and 20 psi is pretty normal operating range depending on a number of variables. #1 is altitude. After that there are humidity, ambient temp, shop ventilation and air consumption, breezes and others even less significant. There are a lot of things that make a little bit of difference and they add up. Believe it or not my gasser operates slightly differently at the museum some 3 miles from here.

The variables are different in every location too so it's pretty difficult (call it impossible) to say what specific psi your forge should operate on. The best realistic data you can expect is a working range. After that you need to learn to tune your forge for yourself.

So, what I'm saying is play with it till you get it tweeked to your taste. Most important is to avoid excessive scaling. If steel forms scale in the forge it's running too lean. If there's excess flame (there'll always be some) coming out the door, say it has fluttery feather flames at the top that are a little orange or worse yellow, it's running too rich and generating excess CO.

Okay, so maybe this is more important than a little excess scale. CO, Carbon Monoxide can kill you, can cause long term health problems and just generally can make you irritable.

Anyway, think range of psi and range of behaviors and you'll be on the happy track. Specifics between forges, locations and people just don't apply very well.

Frosty

Edited February 19, 2009 by Frosty

[Quenchcrack]

I run my Whimper Baby at 12-15 psig. However, now that I have replaced the hearth, it heats a lot faster. I have not yet applied the ITC100 and I think that will make a big difference, too. Just remember, more pressure uses more gas per hour. Keep your refractories in prime shape to get the most out of it. By the way, I am at sea level and if you are at a higher elevation, your pressures will differ.

[Jeremiah]

Guys, thanks for all of the help. I think that this is going to be a nice addition to the shop. Like the idea of not burning up the small stuff such as on animal heads. I seem to like watching the pretty sparklers in the coal for for some reason, hahahah. I now feel much more comfortable "playing" with the pressure and seeing what works best.

Quench, what did you do to the hearth to make it heat faster?

I looked around at the ITC100 and it looks like doing the base and top coat would be a really nice addition, could this possibly increase the heat enough to weld even in this forge?

[Jeremiah]

By the way I thought I would share the story of how we came about this forge:

I look at the local craigslist on a daily basis and last week saw a listing for the forge under farm+garden for $200.00. I was giddy like a little school girl I guess and right away sent the seller a message asking what the bottom dollar would be and that I was not wanting to lowball but times are tight right now. She replied that someone was coming the next day to look at it and if they did not want it we would talk. Well, I figured it would be gone for sure but low and behold she sends me a message saying that they never showed up, called or anything and what would I offer. I told her that I would have to talk to my brother-in-law and see how much he could put in. After talking to Adam we decided that we were probably not going to be able to afford such an investment at the time and all we could come up with was $100.00 so I wrote her back and told her just that. I mean why not, we had nothing to lose. Well, she responded shortly saying:

"Will it really help you out? If it will make a big difference in your
life, then I'll let you have it for $100. It's just sitting in my garage.
If it can help you in this crappy economy, I'll help you out."

Ok, so now I am starting to feel a little guilty because it is not something that we had to have. So, I replied telling her just that, but that if she did decide to let it go I could assure her it would be appreciated, taken care of and well used. I also told her a little about ourselves. She told us:

"I have no idea where Blackwater Va is, but if you want it for $100 you are
more than welcome to come and get it."

We were floored! We drove up the next evening to pick it up and it turns out that she was from New York originally and had apprenticed as a farrier up there. Since then she had moved to Virginia and she no longer did any farrier work. We talked for awhile and let me tell you it never ceases to amaze me at the good, honest people that are out there. So now we have a forge that we thought would take years for us to afford, one that has been used very, very little (looks almost new) and had also made a new contact and friend.

I learned that it never hurts to ask and that people can sometimes surprise you with their kindness.

She also gave me a link to her mentor's website where he sell tools and supplies that I thought I would share. Farrier Supplies - Blacksmith Supplies - Horseshoes - Montague Blacksmith Supply Co.

[ThomasPowers]

So make her something with your new forge as a thankyou gift!

[Quenchcrack]

Jeremiah, my WB is 8 years old and had a puddle of scale melted into the hearth brick. I chipped it all out and repaired it with ITC 200. Gonna coat the whole inside with ITC100 tomorrow.